Warner Bros. MARA MARU (1952) is a fairly forgotten, generally disliked and disregarded Errol Flynn vehicle. Without doubt it is one of the actor's lesser efforts but it isn't really that bad. If, like me, you are into most anything that the great man is in then there's some enjoyment to be had from this sometimes lethargic seafaring thriller. From an original story by Philip Yordan, Sidney Harmon and Hollister Noble a reasonably fair to middling screenplay was fashioned by N.Richard Nash. It was also buoyed by an adroit score by the studio's Max Steiner and the whole thing had workmanlike direction by the busy Gordon Douglas. Although the star still had to do "The Master of Ballintrae" the following year in England to finish out his Warner contract MARA MARU was his last Hollywood film for them (He made a brief return to the studio in 1958 for the John Barrymore biopic "Too Much Too Soon").
Flynn steps into the shoes of Bogart and Garfield here as Gregory Mason a boat Captain and deep-sea diver (his first time to do so) running a salvage operation in the Philippines after WW2. He knows exactly where a PT boat went down in the China Sea during the war but what he didn't know it sank carrying a diamond encrusted cross. This he learns from a shady collector Raymond Burr who, for a share and a payment of $10,000, asks him to dive for it. Flynn refuses at first but after his partner (Richard Webb) is murdered and his boat burnt out he finally agrees and sets sail with Burr and an assorted collection of dubious characters to retrieve the cross. Of course when he eventually brings up the treasure there is already a well hatched double-cross prepared on board which leads to an action filled finale and a redeemed Flynn returning the cross (at the behest of an over sanctimonious Ruth Roman) to its rightful place in the Church.
Performances are generally fine throughout. Flynn gives a good portrayal of a man wanting to get rich quick and who finally regains strength of character. Raymond Burr is as effective as ever as the calculating baddie and Ruth Roman is just about there as the love interest in what is essentially a poorly written and unconvincing role.
Adding superbly to the thing and keeping it afloat, so to speak, is Max Steiner's terrific score. There is a winsome ethnic piece to point up the Manila setting and eerie music for the diving sequences. But the score really comes into its own in the brilliant chase sequence in the raging storm towards the end, where swirling strings accompany Flynn as he is pursued for the cross through some thick jungle foliage. Then there is a poignant hymnal melody denoting the religious connotations associated with the cross and a beguiling waltz is the love theme for the picture's softer moments with Flynn and Roman. MARA MARU is one of the composer's unfairly forgotten scores.
MARA MARU is probably in its disregarded and ignored state because of its unavailability on disc or even on video tape. But the good news is it has just been released by Warners on their new Archive series. So hopefully this release will create a wider audience and enhance its reputation. Check it out!
Flynn steps into the shoes of Bogart and Garfield here as Gregory Mason a boat Captain and deep-sea diver (his first time to do so) running a salvage operation in the Philippines after WW2. He knows exactly where a PT boat went down in the China Sea during the war but what he didn't know it sank carrying a diamond encrusted cross. This he learns from a shady collector Raymond Burr who, for a share and a payment of $10,000, asks him to dive for it. Flynn refuses at first but after his partner (Richard Webb) is murdered and his boat burnt out he finally agrees and sets sail with Burr and an assorted collection of dubious characters to retrieve the cross. Of course when he eventually brings up the treasure there is already a well hatched double-cross prepared on board which leads to an action filled finale and a redeemed Flynn returning the cross (at the behest of an over sanctimonious Ruth Roman) to its rightful place in the Church.
Performances are generally fine throughout. Flynn gives a good portrayal of a man wanting to get rich quick and who finally regains strength of character. Raymond Burr is as effective as ever as the calculating baddie and Ruth Roman is just about there as the love interest in what is essentially a poorly written and unconvincing role.
Adding superbly to the thing and keeping it afloat, so to speak, is Max Steiner's terrific score. There is a winsome ethnic piece to point up the Manila setting and eerie music for the diving sequences. But the score really comes into its own in the brilliant chase sequence in the raging storm towards the end, where swirling strings accompany Flynn as he is pursued for the cross through some thick jungle foliage. Then there is a poignant hymnal melody denoting the religious connotations associated with the cross and a beguiling waltz is the love theme for the picture's softer moments with Flynn and Roman. MARA MARU is one of the composer's unfairly forgotten scores.
MARA MARU is probably in its disregarded and ignored state because of its unavailability on disc or even on video tape. But the good news is it has just been released by Warners on their new Archive series. So hopefully this release will create a wider audience and enhance its reputation. Check it out!